Pride organizations in B.C. have said this year’s festivities are a way of celebrating community and pushing back against a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
Kamloops Pride celebrated its Pride Week June 9-15, including a youth carnival, a trivia event and culminating in the Parade last Sunday. President Alyssa Christianson said the organization is very aware of recent anti-trans rhetoric.
She points to Alberta’s Bill 26, which introduced restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. Advocacy groups Egale Canada and Skipping Stone challenged the legislation, saying it denies medically-necessary care from being provided to gender diverse youth in the province.
Saskatchewan has also faced a legal challenge of Bill 137, which requires parental consent for students under 16 to use preferred names of pronouns in school
In the U.S., the independent research organization Trans Legislation Tracker said there has been a surge in anti-trans legislation. It states 115 bills targeting trans people have been passed across the U.S. so far this year.
The most recent data from Statistics Canada show a sharp rise in reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2023 – up nearly 70 per cent from the previous year. It was the third year in a row of increases in hate crime targeting sexual orientation. StatCan notes about four-times more hate crimes were reported during Pride month in June 2023 compared to other months of the year.
Police in British Columbia received 110 reports of hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2023, compared to 77 the previous year.
“Pride can be a way of showing the community…that queer people are still here, we’re still visible,” said Christianson. “It’s not going to stop us.”
Victoria Pride Society has Pride events scheduled throughout June and July. It hosted a queer youth prom for graduating highschoolers on June 12th. A drag baseball game will go ahead on July 1, and the city’s Pride parade is set for July 6.
“We often forget what the purpose of Pride is,” said President Nick Luney.
He said in times of heightened conservatism, it’s important to focus on the sense of community that is a part of Pride, as well as education and awareness.
“Everyone has their own lived experience and their own story to tell, so come open and willing to listen, and be participatory in community,” said Luney.
He adds the organization is working with the local officials and police to ensure a safety plan is in place for this year’s events, especially in the wake of the recent vehicle attack at a Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver that left 11 dead.
Some Canadian Pride organizations are also seeing increased financial challenges this year. Pride Toronto reported a nearly $900,000 shortfall earlier this month after several major corporate sponsors pulled their funding – decisions the organization says were motivated by the political backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the U.S.
Luney said because Victoria Pride is a smaller organization and relies more on grassroots funding, it hasn’t seen the same type of dip in funding. But he says a tougher economic climate means some businesses have not been able to offer the same support as in previous years.
He also said some governmental grants the organization typically receives are offering reduced amounts of funding compared to previous years. He chalks that up to increased budgeting constraints due to the U.S.-Canada tariff war and other economic pressures.
Christianson said Kamloops Pride hasn’t lost any major sponsors, but the organization has concerns about longer-term funding sustainability.
“Pride started as a protest, and it’s super important for it to be community-based and grassroots,” she said. “But putting on parades and festivals costs money… It’s definitely hard to get secure funding year-after-year.” She says the organization currently gets the majority of its funding from a Vancouver Foundation grant, but hopes to diversify its funding in the future.
Amin Ghaziani is a professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia and the Canada Research Chair in Urban Sexualities. He has also written a book about queer nightlife and protest movements.
“We need Pride celebrations more than ever as we transition into an increasingly hostile political environment in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world,” said Ghaziani in an emailed response to Vista News.
“This particular conservative shift is motivated by gender and anti-trans sentiments more so than I have seen in past cycles of conservatism,” said Ghaziani. But he says it builds on a decades-long counter-movement against LGBTQ+ rights.
“By working together for positive social change, we can, and will, move the dial back to a progressive landscape that does not debate the humanity of its citizens,” said Ghaziani.
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